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Showing posts with label fibre. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fibre. Show all posts

Thursday, March 08, 2012

Spinning Again

Life is what happens when we're not looking and it's been creeping up and surprising me in a bad way for the last year. My mum's dementia has really thrown me and it's taken a long time to adjust to the news of her illness. My kids leaving home was also a big shock even though they are happy and busy and doing well, nothing seemed to go as I had thought it would. My head has been spinning.

Things seem to be assuming a new kind of normal. I have a plan again at last and things to look forward to. In September I return to university to begin a PGCE in primary education and meanwhile I have been teaching spinning again. 

Last Sunday I had a wonderful day at Artison where I worked with a group of 6 beginner spinners. It is a wonderful thing to be able to share your enthusiasm with people. A great day. Very affirming to have people leaving with their enthusiasm nurtured and enabled. It makes me want to spin! I have recently been lucky enough to buy an e-spinner about which I hope to blog very soon. Spinning without a ballooning ankle is very pleasant indeed although I don't think anything could ever surplant my Timbertops wheel, dear old lady sits in my living room, waiting patiently until I find time to spin.


I am still wandering a little in a wilderness of uncertainty, oh for the confidence of youth and the sureness of ones 20s. I wander with friends though and this helps greatly. 

Monday, October 10, 2011

Alwinton Border Shepherding Show

 There were lots of classes in the tent and after the judges were finished we had a look to see who has won, this was the most surprising! Decorate a Wellington Boot - this chicken was fabulous!
 If you didn't have a boot to decorate, how about a potato? Something of a bird theme going on here :)
 Some beautiful flower displays, many more than I can show here I'm afraid.
 The walking sticks were something to behold, shame you can't get close enough for a really good view.

 What is a country show without a giant leek or two and in this case three.
 Great entries in the carrots too.
 Fabulous onions.
 Parsnips like you've never seen - I wonder what they taste like, I like parsnips :)
 And you need a certain vegetable growing skill to get 5 different veg to this standard.
 Don't forget the tomatoes!
Well, due to the weather the show looked better from inside the tents. It did get slightly better as the day went on but you can't expect too much at the beginning of October.


The local school put on a beautiful display and the children entered their own set of classes in handwriting.


 Mosaic pots and paintings all beautifully decorated and displayed.
 The standard of photographs and pictures was very high and very impressive.
 As were the quiches, scones, pies and cakes.

The lemon curd is a personal favourite but there were jams and pickles and marmalade too.






 Elsewhere even the dogs were dressed for the weather.
 The local spinning guild were there and taught Katy to make a braid which she found fascinating.

 More of those well dressed hounds, they were definitely ready for the weather as were their owners.
 Luckily a little rain can't stop a small girl from enjoying her hotdog.
 The pipers were playing up a storm of a different kind
 and they all looked the part and put on a great show.






 I only saw one pair of what looked like hand knitted socks, though I could be wrong, I hope.
 This little fellow looked like he wished he had one of those dogs coats.
 Happily there were plenty of sheep.










 Even if we couldn't get at the cake we could admire it.

 Of course the highlight of the day for me was the knitting and some surprising winners and runners up and sadly too many classes where only a few entries meant that every one got a prize.



 This one got a special mention with the information that it would have won but for the fact that it was a cardi and the class was for jumpers :(
 A knitted shepherd has to be a winner although Katy thought the dog just out of shot was a better choice!






 I also really liked the pencil drawings so I thought I'd show you those too.


There was some woollen and worsted handspun knitting and spinning yarns but my batteries ran out :( there were fewer classes and fewer entries. Later in the day there was Cumberland wrestling which I photographed a couple of years ago here -
I enjoy watching this but Katy was bored by now and the weather was still very wet so we came home. Next year I take 2 sets of batteries!